Just another Sunday morning?

Just another Sunday morning, though this one began late for us. We didn’t wake up until sometime after nine! We must have been out too late last night, but it was Susan’s birthday. We met her for dinner at On the Border and had good Mexican food and outstanding ‘ritas. Maybe too many ‘ritas. Anyway, it was a good night.

We got home just after midnight. “Miles to go before I sleep…” Feed the puppies and bed them down. Round up the kitties. Check and respond to email. Watch Channel 5 and Channel 3 ten o’clock newscasts. Tivo’ed them both to find out the latest on Tennessee Waltz and John Ford’s dance with the feds. We did not get to bed until after one this morning.

The fact that Ford resigned from the Tennessee legislature is a good thing. However, why did he resign? Does he feel that this indictment is something he cannot beat because he really is guilty, or what?

I talked to a neighbor yesterday about Ford’s indictment. She is a full-blown Ford fan. He had not yet announced his resignation. She felt that Ford was set up because he is Black and that he had not done anything wrong. She even stated that he was “too smart” to have been caught up in something that was so obviously a trap. This is the same neighbor who admitted months ago “we all know John Ford is ethically challenged, but we keep voting for him anyway.” Why keep voting for him? He is Black. Sad, isn’t it. Too many feel that way about him and other “ethically challenged” Black leaders here in Memphis.

Okay, I’m off the soapbox. The paper wasn’t on the lawn when we got up. Had to call to have it delivered. Watched about five minutes of CBS Sunday Morning and the phone rang. It was The Wife’s Mom. Then My Mom called; then Susan; and, then Ida called. Now it’s noon. All I can say is, ain’t Tivo wonderful?

What does it all mean?

It's no secret that President Bush tends to employ creative uses of the English language. But it's probably doubly difficult for journalists sparring with him at news conferences to always comprehend the meaning behind his words. White House reporter Judy Keen understands the pain of rankled reporters, and has created a guide to help journalists navigate Bush's perplexing phrasing. For example, when Bush says, "I appreciate that question" in response to a complex query, Keen thinks he means, "I need a moment to collect my thoughts." And when asked about slow progress on certain issues, Bush often retorts, "My job is to confront tough issues." Translation: "Although it looks like progress is slow, that's how politics works."-- Jenny McKeel

2005/05/27

More on John Ford

Ford bonded out for $20,000. That's it? Just $20,000 for the man who threatened to kill undercover FBI agents and has a habit of waving guns at people? What am I missing here? He has been placed on house arrest.

After prosecutors appealed the decision to let Ford go, a hearing on the issue was set for Tuesday with Ford ordered to remain at home until then. Other conditions for Ford's release included requiring him to say where he will live. Ford maintains separate households with two women who have had his children. An attorney wrote the address Ford picked on a piece of paper and showed it to the judge. He also must keep his job, wear an electronic monitor, not contact any witnesses and not keep any firearms. Prosecutors said during the hearing that a search of Ford's property found two revolvers and a removable magazine for another handgun. He also can't leave the federal court district except to appear in Nashville before the Senate Ethics Committee, which is investigating him on an array of unrelated allegations. Ford cannot attend regular sessions of the Legislature, which is working to adjourn this week.

South Memphis: Neighborhood Fun, Pt. II

You may want to reread Neighborhood Fun, Pt. I to refresh your memory.

Where did we leave off in the saga? Oh yeah: the mentally challenged daughter and the recreational drug abuser son are temporarily living with his daughter and her family in another part of the city. At least that is what he told everyone.

The recreational drug abuser son returned to the house the next day. He wanted to get some more of their possessions before the trash or MHA people showed up. While he was, there MHA showed up and threatened to call the MPD if he did not leave the premises. He did not leave. MPD and process servers arrived. He was not arrested though; only removed from the premises.

Trash day comes and goes. The aftermath of the eviction remains. Finally, MHA does its job and cleans up the mess.

That is not the end of the story. It seems that only the mentally challenged daughter is now living with local relatives. According to a neighbor, the recreational drug abuser son is dividing his time between an abandoned house and the streets. That is never a good situation.

Ceremony gone wild

It's graduation time in Memphis again. Translation: It's time to get wild in public again. At least that seems to be how many family members and friends of graduating seniors at White Station seemed to feel. Being that The Daughter is a White Station grad this Memphis Flyerarticle caught my attention.

As a parent of a member of White Station High School's Class of 2005, I was hoping for obvious reasons that Sunday's graduation ceremony would be orderly, at least until the roll call got through the B's.

It was, but barely. The announcement of at least a third of the subsequent graduates' names was met by a chorus of whoops, cheers, and even dancing in the aisles by pockets of -- what? -- friends and family members in the audience at the Mid-South Coliseum. One boisterous group sitting behind me must have an awfully big family, because they roared so many times I finally got tired of turning around.

Seems the Sith's finally hit the fan

State Sen. John Ford remained in federal custody overnight after being charged Thursday with accepting bribes from a fake FBI company, then threatening to shoot potential witnesses against him.

The witnesses were actually undercover federal agents, according to indictments unsealed Thursday morning.

I'm I surprised? I'd like to be, but I'm not. I know everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but this sounds like something Ford would do. And this has nothing to do with the state senate's ethics investigation. It's a separate issue.

What does surprise me is the possible involvement of Bowers and Dixon. I always thought Dixon was a good guy. I never liked Bowers politically but I thought she was honest.

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was The Wife’s and my twenty-first wedding anniversary. (And, they said it wouldn’t last.) Twenty-one years married; twenty-two together. Wonderful, turbulent, tearful, exciting, nerves racking and joyful are all valid descriptors for our relationship. In addition, two great kids to boot! Something for everyone. Could it have been any better? I think not.

Twenty-one years ago (yesterday) we were married at what was then a Lutheran Church located on Getwell just south of Park. We met there at nine in the morning. An old friend who was a minister at said church performed the ceremony. (That is why the Lutheran church.) Small ceremony: The Mom and her brother; The Wife’s two (my soon to be step) kids; and two close friends. That’s all. After the ceremony, we adjoined to the Peabody for an early lunch.

That night, we partied. It was Memphis in May, you know. We met friends downtown and tried to get tickets to see Sam and Dave at the Orpheum. Seems like a lot of others had the same idea. The show was sold out. Therefore, the powers that be decided to close off Main in front of the Orpheum and all of Beale, put huge speakers outside the theatre, and pipe the concert to the masses that could not get tickets. The four of us danced in the street for hours with a couple of thousand of our best friends. A good time was had by all.

I don’t know if the concert actually ended, or we just danced ourselves out. I do remember that we spent the rest of the evening mellowing out to the sounds of Honeymoon Garner and Fred Ford at The Daisy. It was a great day.

Too busy

The last few days have been busy around the old homestead. What with kitty and puppy wrangling, doctor appointments and just general household chores, writing was relegated to back forty.

Doctor appointments loomed large yesterday, though only one was mine. I had to see my cardiologist’s research folks at Stern. No big, really. The Mom had an eye exam, while The Wife needed to pop by the sleep lab for an adjustment of her sleep machine. Since all of these are located in Cordova, we made all the appointments for the same day. Seemed like a good idea at the time. We got to the first appointment at nine and did not leave the area until one-thirty.

Have you noticed that everything seems to be headed east? All my medical people with the exception of two are in the Cordova area. The Wife’s are mostly in Cordova now, though she and The Mom’s shared primary care physician is Southwind bound. The dentist of choice for the three of us moved to Collierville several years ago. No one is near anymore. Even the vet we prefer works out of a Cordova office.

How hot is it? Pt. I

2005/05/23

Say it with me; It's just a movie

I think that there are too many people who have too much time on their hands. These same people also take life much too seriously. You want examples? Moveon.org plans a series of ads comparing Frist to Chancellor Palpatine. Conservative blogs begin comparing Vader's "If you're not with me, you're my enemy," to Bush's "Either you're with us, or you are with the terrorists." George Lucas is added to Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood boycott list. The Drudge Report compares the WH press corps to the Sith.

And then, there's the latest MSNBC Question of the Day: Star Wars III: Do you think it has a political agenda?

Some background:

“If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.”“I am the Senate.”“He has control of the Senate and the courts; he’s too dangerous.”

Those quotes may sound remarkably similar to recent utterances by President Bush, Tom (“I am the government”) DeLay and nervous Democrats, but they pop directly out of the mouths of central characters in the final installment of George Lucas’ 28-year-old “Star Wars” series.

Is Lucas having a bit of fun with contemporary politics here? With its many references to arrogance and lust for power leading to the dark side, is “Revenge of the Sith” intended as an allegory for our times? “Only a Sith deals in absolutes,” says one of the wiser characters, who is clearly not in favor of endorsing a good-vs.-evil agenda.

George Lucas in an interview says he was less inspired by the current war time climate than by the Nixon Vietnam era. “When I wrote it, Iraq didn’t exist” Lucas said. Click here to read more.

Hillary@Rensselear

This past Saturday, our granddaughter Liz graduated from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute with a degree is in molecular biology. Needless to say, we are all very proud of her. Senator Hillary Clinton spoke at the commencement.

Interesting side note: Liz's dad and one of her sisters attended the ceremony. Dad is a staunch republican and "Hillary hater" while the sister is a liberal/progressive.

"At the root of democracy is free inquiry, open debate and dialogue," Clinton said in her commencement speech. "What happens in a scientific laboratory where people are searching for answers to difficult questions must also occur in a democracy."Clinton said she fears the proud American tradition of free inquiry in both science and democracy has been threatened in recent years. Interference in publicly funded science, the suppression of scientific evidence and the politicization of scientific advisory panels are all on the rise, she said.

"Oftentimes it feels some of us are living in an evidence-free zone," Clinton said.

"This is not a Democratic, Republican or conservative issue, but an American issue," she said.

Though Clinton did not specifically mention stem cell research, her remarks came the day after President Bush said he is preparing to "go to the mat" for his 2001 ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Bush is asking Congress not to pass a bill lifting the ban.

Although the former first lady received a warm welcome from the crowd at RPI, one heckler shouted, "It's your war, Hillary!" during her speech. Also, between five and 10 college Republicans demonstrated on a street corner near the ceremonies, saying they did not agree with the college administration's selection of Clinton as the commencement speaker.

The following is the first communique from a group calling itself Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me at The Chronicle via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether other news organizations have received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told. I am pleased to report that the words below are at least not disgusting:

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them. You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!

People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea? Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the committee of the whole for further discussion.

We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.

Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.

We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.) We will require all lobbyists, spokesmen and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.

We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.

Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.

People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.

Startling new underground group spreads lack of panic! Citizens declare themselves "relatively unafraid" of threats of undeclared rationality. People can still go to France, terrorist leader says.

Be afraid, be very afraid

Found this in the Commercial Appeal's hard copy edition, but couldn't find it on the website. Anyway, on the front page of Viewpoints (Section V) there is a section called Think About It. It's below the fold. Under Very liberal interpretation you'll find the following.

11,800,000: Minimum number of U.S. adults who think President Bush is "liberal" or "very liberal"

1 in 4: Chance that a U.S. adult thinks a "conservative" is someone whosupports affirmative action

2005/05/21

Dog Blogging

I found these two bad boys at Dogblog and noticed how much the look like our Molly. They're just larger. Much larger. They must be Belgium Shepherds while Molly is mostly Schipperke. I've read that Schips are related to Belgium Shepherds.Molly look-a-likes

2005/05/19

South Memphis: Neighborhood Fun, Pt. I

As you know, wife and I have been out of town quite a bit for the past three weeks. (Hence, the low blog post output.) We just returned from the latest trip this past Friday (5.13.05) afternoon. Were we in for a shock. The people in the house across the side trip from us have been evicted, or set out as its better known. It was a mess. Everything was just dumped on the front lawn and in front of the garage.

Here’s the situation. They lived in that house for about the last ten or twelve years. They were not renting. They were buying that house.

This was one of those extended family situations. I grew up in one of those. The family originally consisted of the mother, two of her grown children, and her invalid brother. Of the two children, the daughter is mentally challenged while the son is a recreational drug abuser and involved with the neighborhood dealers. The mentally challenged daughter’s little girl was also in the house.

Actually, the mother was buying the house with an MHA loan. The loan was paid with money from her Social Security check, and the disability checks of the invalid brother, mentally challenged daughter, and recreational drug abuser son. No problem though. Then, the invalid brother dies. Next, the mother dies. There is less money coming in. Neither the recreational drug abuser son nor the mentally challenged daughter has a job.

It was then decided that the little girl needed to be in a more stable environment, so out-of-state relatives took her in. Those same relatives somehow got hold of the mothers’ bank account number. To take care of the little girl they drew on the account. Heavily. They drained it. The recreational drug abuser son could not make the mortgage payments. MHA wants its money. MHA throws recreational drug abuser son and mentally challenged daughter out of their home of twelve years.

However, what of the clean up? Because of recent changes in laws, MHA is responsible for the clean up. However, they did not want to step up and take care of the situation. Instead, MHA wanted to wait until after normal trash pick up and then clean up whatever the trash man did not get. That sucks.

Bottom line: the mentally challenged daughter and the recreational drug abuser son are temporarily living with his daughter and her family in another part of the city.

2005/05/18

The Force is strong in this one

Channel 5 News is running a web poll to decide who is most in touch with the Force. Is it Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton, Memphis Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson, or Shelby County Superintendent Dr. Bobby Webb?

I voted for Herenton. I seriously think that of the four he is the most in touch with the Force. He is the most in touch with the dark side of the Force that is.

Name it and it's Yours

“According to our records, Anni is due for the following treatments…” *

*This posting title is the postcard message we received from our old vet today.

Last May 24, wife and I went to the pound. Gretel, the last of our companion animals had died a couple of months before and we were finally ready to get another. We had debated whether to look for a puppy or a full-grown dog. We were still debating when we arrived at the pound.

Have you ever been to the local pound? When you enter, the first cages you see are for filled with puppies. Therefore, we looked at the puppies first. There were a lot of them, but they all seemed to be either napping or somehow listless. All except one. That one was jumping up and down, barking, rattling it’s cage door as if to say, “Chose me, chose me. Take me home. I’m ready to go.” We looked at that one. It was a very energetic, four month old, black and white mixed breed. We looked at the others, but I could not get her out of my mind.We picked her. On the other hand, she picked us. If we had not chosen her she would have been put to sleep later that day. We could not take her home that day though. She still needed shots. We could pick her up on May 26, our wedding anniversary. For that reason, we named her Anni; short for anniversary.

Anni was the best little girl we had ever had. She was so smart. She learned come, sit, and fetch amazingly quick. She brought a bright spot to both our lives. We loved her so much.

Anni had been with us about a month when we noticed something peculiar. Her rear legs would occasionally twitch uncontrollably. I hit the net to do some research. What I came up with pointed to distemper. A visit to our vet confirmed this.

Apparently, if Anni had gotten her first set of puppy shots before she reached three months, the onset of distemper could have been prevented. However, she was four months old when we adopted her.

The vet told us that some puppies beat distemper. We administered meds he prescribed and even fed her beef liver to build her strength. It did not work. The distemper became worse. Anni was obviously in a great deal of pain. The only solution at this point was to have her put down. We were devastated but we realized that there was no other choice.

2005/05/15

Sundays

Everyday you should wake with a goal in mind. Never let the day pass without accomplishing that goal. A day that passes without accomplishing your goal is a wasted day. My goal for today; do as little as possible.

The day began well. I was up by six AM to let Molly and Cheyenne out. Then as quickly as possible, I was back in bed. I was up again around seven-thirty and had coffee ready for the wife and me just in time to watch CBS Sunday Morning. Searched the front yard for the morning paper during the first commercial break, and spent the rest of the morning (at least until nine-thirty) in bed watching Charles Osgood, drinking coffee and reading the paper. We prepared a late breakfast of steamed eggs, sausage and homemade biscuits around ten and finished the paper as we ate. Not too shabby. As little as possible, remember?

Ida arrived around noon. Wife and she had planned to go shopping. She brought Magoo (her Springer Spaniel/Bassett mix with her for some playtime with Molly and Cheyenne. I opted to stay home and watch the dogs. (Like they really needed watching.) I read while they played. So far, perfect.

Wife and Ida were only gone a couple of hours. By the time they returned we were all pretty hungry. So I cooked dinner; kielbasa and fresh veggies on the grill. It doesn’t get any easier than that. Wife even cut the veggies for me. Remember the goal.

I like Sundays. There was a time when I didn’t though. Sundays were just the days before Mondays. And Mondays were (dare I say it) workdays. Therefore, Sundays were the days that I prepared for Mondays. That meant preparing lesson plans, grading papers, calling parents and doing other teacher things. Sundays didn’t truly belong to me.

But they belong to me now. And Mondays? I ain't got to get ready for no Mondays. I don't need to get ready for no Mondays. I don't have to go to work on any stinkin’ Mondays!

In South Memphis? I don't think so.

South Memphis is sometimes treated like the red-headed step child of Memphis. Granted, Frayser, Whitehaven and several other parts of the city get the same treatment, but it seems to be true more often of South Memphis. The latest case has to do with the attempted location of a Pull-a-Part facility in South Memphis. So what is Pull-a-Part? It’s an auto salvage yard chain, that’s what. How does it work? You find vehicle with the part you need on their lot, remove that part, and then take it home for installation on your vehicle. All for a fee, of course. Simple, right?

We South Memphis residents want no part of Pull-a-Part. Neither does Rita Harris of the Sierra Club.

Harris says South Memphis residents oppose Pull-a-Part on Belz Road because they fear it will lower property values and increase crime.

The proposed property is currently zoned for light industrial, but the "un-junkyard" is considered heavy industrial. According to Don Jones at the Memphis & Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, the company has applied for "planned-development" status, which means they would be able to locate there without a zoning change or a special use permit, but if they ever left, other heavy industrial businesses would still have to reapply for approval.

Did I mention that this Pull-a-Part facility was originally planned for Whitehaven last year? Whitehaven residents said, “No way.” Now the owners of Pull-a-Part are trying for South Memphis. For the Full story>>

Panic in the Capital, Pt. II

Found this secret memo from Karl Rove posted at http://www.madkane.com/notable.html that may explain why the President was not informed that a small plane intruded on Capital airspace until after the fact.

Panic in the Capital

An unidentified small plane intrudes on the country's most restricted airspace. The V.P. and First Ladyare moved to secure locations. Fighter jets are scrambled. Capital buildings are evacuated. But, where was the President? Was he safe? From what secure location was he monitoring the situation and leading the Nation? Oh, he was bike riding? And, you informed him after it was all over?

Bush was about a half-an-hour into his ride at the Patuxent WildlifeResearch Center in Maryland when the airplane came near the White House, sending the Secret Service scrambling to evacuate Vice President Dick Cheney and move First Lady Laura Bush to a secure location.

McClellan said the president’s Secret Service detail was informed about the plane at about 11:59 a.m., when the decision was made to raise the threat level at the White House to “yellow.”

Fighter planes were immediately scrambled to intercept the plane, and the threat level at the White House was raised all the way to “red” before the “all clear” was given at 12:14 p.m.

McClellan said Bush was informed about the incident around 12:50 p.m. at the end of his ride. He left the reserve around 12:57 p.m. and returned to the White House at around 1:30 p.m., well after the security scare had ended.

“The president was never in danger and the protocols in place after Sept. 11 were followed,” McClellan said. “The president has a tremendous amount of trust in his security detail and they were being kept apprised of the situation as it developed.” Full story>>

Se habla ...?

The fact that I haven't blogged since the end of April doesn't mean that I've gotten blogging out of my system. It just means that I've been away for awhile. Wife and I took a temporary paying gig with the University of Memphis' Department of Education. (Don't you just love that word paying?) For two weeks we tested the reading skills of first and second graders in the Chattanooga (week one) and Nashville areas (week two). Monday and Tuesday of next week we'll be in the Moscow/Grand Junction areas. Then it's over until sometime in the Fall.

Interesting gig. Ran across some really sharp kids. I didn't realize that there was such a large hispanic community in Middle and Eastern Tennessee. Mexico and many Central and South American countries were represented there. All were fluent in English but spoke Spanish at home. We even ran into one English-fluent kid who spoke Spanish and Arabic at home! Can you say tri-lingual? And, can you say it in any language other than English?